Nya
by ko-inu-128
Summary: Eiji, an escaped experiment, meets Oishi, a university student, and the other members of the TeniPuri cast. They try and hide him from the world while still trying to find out who abused him...but it turns out to be harder than they thought... Much FLUFF!
1. New beginning

Hey all! This was an idea that I have had for quite sometime and I finally got around to writing it out about 4 months ago…I just didn't want to post it yet and then forgot about it for a while as new ideas kept arising…

This is an Eiji fic. Eiji meets Oishi first, then the others will come in during later chapters.

Much FLUFF!!!!!!! The beginning doesn't have much but the next chapter has more fluff than cotton candy!

This might start out a bit confusing, but just work with me here…

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"Nya." He said, looking down on the figures dressed in white. "Unya."

"Eiji, get down here!" One of them yelled up to him.

"To think we go through this every time…" Another man mumbled to himself. "Eiji, you better get down here, or else you won't get any dinner."

"Nya." Eiji shook his head, wrapping his tail around him as he got more comfy on the bookcase. He was determined to stay as far away from them as possible.

Eiji was an experiment. Ever since he was born, he had lived in a lab, where they ran tests on him and poked and prodded at him. He was different from normal people. He had cat-like ears and a cat-like tail. His senses were far more superior to that of a normal human, and he could run faster and jump higher, beyond the limits a human would think possible.

Eiji has lived in several different labs, thus making learning to communicate with them difficult. Every time he would start to understand a few words in their language, they would ship him off to a place where the language was completely different.

But this place was familiar. He had lived in this language for a while now and was able to pick up a few words, but was still at a loss on how to say the words.

If only he could speak their tongue. Then he'd tell them to leave him alone.

"Eiji, come down now or we'll have to spray you down." He heard, but only understood his name. But he knew what they wanted by the tone of their voice, and he refused to cooperate.

The men waited a few more moments before one left and came back with a long tube like thing that could bend. Eiji couldn't see the other end of it because it was so long that it rounded the corner. Eiji's eyes widened in fear, but he kept his ground. The tube was faced towards him and Eiji hissed at it.

That was when water came shooting through the hose and hit Eiji. Now being half cat, Eiji despised water, but Eiji kept sitting there, letting the water mess up his hair and fur. After a few minutes of that, Eiji got a little fed up and stood, trying to find a way to avoid the water, but it just kept spraying at him. Eiji gave a low growl at this.

"Get the tranquilizer." He heard one man order another. Soon after the man left, he returned with a gun and aimed it at Eiji. Eiji, still being sprayed by water, hissed before the gun made a loud pop. Eiji felt pain in his arm and when he looked, he saw the dart. He removed it but when he did, he suddenly became very drowsy. His eyes soon felt very heavy and he started to sway a little. He realized that the water had stopped spraying him at this point. He soon blacked out.

……………

Meanwhile:

"Hey, Oishi," A voice called. "We're all going to the river for a while. Want to come?"

"No thanks, Momo." Oishi replied. "Don't you remember? I'm leaving this afternoon so I need to finish packing!"

"Oh yeah." Momo smacked himself in the forehead. "Why are you leaving today, anyways? The rest of us aren't leaving for another week."

"I start my new job on Monday." Oishi replied. He and his friends Momo, Taka-san, Fuji, Tezuka, Kaido, Ryoma, and Inui had been camping for the past few weeks. They wanted to relax a little before the semester started up again. They didn't go back to the University for about four more weeks, but time went by particularly fast in college.

"All right then. Call Tezuka's cell phone when you get back though." Momo said and went down to the river in his swimming trunks and a towel while Oishi packed up. An our later, Oishi went down to the river where everyone was to announce his departure.

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When Eiji woke up, his head was throbbing. He opened his eyes slowly, but quickly shut them again when the bright light blinded him. He rolled over onto his stomach and moaned. It's a good thing he was laying on something soft.

Eiji froze. Soft? They never had anything 'soft' to lay on in the lab. And the smells. These were not smells of the lab. It smells…fresh.

Eiji began opening his eyes to find that he was not in the lab, but found himself being surrounded by green. And blue. He looked up. The sky took his breath away. He had never seen the sky before, nor these green things sticking out of the ground.

Was he outside?

He must be. That is the only explanation.

He then heard something. Water.

He carefully got up, and sprinted towards the sound. He soon came to a river. He lapped up as much water as he could because he was so thirsty.

The water was tasty. Unlike the stale water he drank at the lab.

When he was done, he noticed something shiny flicker in the water. Eiji watched as a fish came within a paws reach from him. He slowly reached out to snatch it, but it saw him and swam away. He waited for another to pass by. When it did, he tried again and failed again. And again. And again. And again. After some time passed, he finally managed to catch one. It wasn't the biggest one he's seen, but it wasn't the smallest either.

The fish tasted delicious! It was the best thing he had ever eaten, considering the only thing he has ever eaten tasted like rubber. After he finished his meal he took a nap.

………………..

He woke up several hours later to the sound of voices. Eiji flattened his ears against his scalp but then put one forward to hear what was being said. He had never heard these voices before…they didn't sound like anyone who would be in a lab. In fact, they sounded much younger than the scientists back in the lab. He jumped into a tree and leaped from limb to limb, following the voices. He soon spotted them. Only three were there. He watched them very closely for a long time.

After a while another came and then two more. He heard in the direction they were coming from that there where two more, and sniffing the air confirmed it. He leaped from tree to tree, heading in the direction of the two voices. He stopped in a large tree when he found them. Staying well hidden, he watched as they talked a little, then one departed in the direction of the river.

Eiji watched the boy who was now all by himself. He seemed to be packing things into a vehicle. He knew about vehicles because that is how the scientists got around the lab…but those were much smaller. But Eiji figured that it did the same thing.

The boy had dark hair with two locks coming down, stopping right above his eyes. His face looked gentle…unlike the scientists' rough and stern faces. He liked watching this human.

Then it dawned on him.

'This human is leaving.' He thought. 'I should probably leave too. In case those men decide to come back for me.' He pondered on where he should go, but he didn't know what was in which direction nor where he should start. He looked down at the boy and watched him. After a long time of making sure everything of his was packed, the strange boy headed down to the river.

Eiji quickly took this opportunity to scavenge the camp. He quickly noticed that the only thing that smelled edible looked a lot like the stuff back at the lab, but took a small bag which held very small items in it.

His ears twitched when he heard the footsteps of the human coming back. Eiji froze. There wasn't enough time to jump back into the tree without being noticed so he looked around for a hiding spot. Then he saw the back door to the car open and he quickly jumped in, hiding under the blanket on the floor behind the driver's seat. He kept as still as possible.

When the boy sat down in the car, he turned on the engine and startled Eiji a little, but not enough for the boy to notice. Eiji soon felt the car moving.

'Well,' he thought. 'At least I'm headed somewhere.'

…..

They drove along for a long time. Eiji was getting hungry again. Then he remembered the little bag he stole. It was now on the floor, but it was now behind the passenger's seat. He quickly reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it back under the blanket.

"Huh?" He heard the boy say. "What was that?"

Eiji could hear the boy shifting in his seat to look behind him. Eiji froze. He wondered if it was him that the boy saw. He relaxed when he heard the human say "Oh well." Even though he didn't know what 'Oh well' meant, it sounded like the boy was just shrugging it off.

He opened the bag and pulled out one of the little round things. He put it in his mouth and was shocked to find that it was sweet. Very sweet in fact.

He continued to suck on the piece of candy, completely forgetting about where he was. He soon noticed that the car was stopping. Eiji took a quick peek out from under the blanket. They were in the middle of nowhere. Why would the human want to stop here?

The boy got out of the car and closed his door. Eiji soon heard another door open. He froze when he realized that it was the door that he was right next to. He tried to stop himself from trembling, but he couldn't, and hoped that the boy wouldn't notice him.

He suddenly felt the blanket being removed from his skin.

Eiji was caught. He peered at the boy who had been driving and the look on his face was slightly cocky at first, but then as he got a good look at Eiji, his expression changed dramatically.

…

At first, Oishi thought that Ryoma had snuck into the car because he heard the sound of someone eating the candy. It sounded like Ryoma, so he pulled the car over in hopes of spoiling the boy's fun. He wasn't, however, planning on finding a naked red-headed boy with cat ears and a long cat-like tail under the blanket.

Eiji quickly maneuvered so that he was facing the boy, but instead of pouncing like Oishi thought he would do, he backed up. He kept backing up until he was at the other door. He looked at the door but couldn't figure out how to open it, so he shied into the corner, hissing at Oishi while he crouched on his haunches, ears flat against his skull.

"Wh…who are you?" Oishi asked. Eiji threateningly hissed again when he spoke. He didn't want Oishi coming close to him. "Don't be scared…. What are you?"

Eiji hissed again. He didn't know what the human wanted, or why he was acting so gentle, but he wasn't about to fall for any tricks.

Oishi looked the creature over. He had small cuts, bruises, and bandages on various spots on his body. The boy was completely naked except for the fact that he had a black collar around his neck.

"A collar?" Oishi asked to nobody in particular, earning himself another hiss. "Who could be this cruel to do that to this creature? And you look half starved. Who did this to you?"

Eiji gave a low growl. He didn't want to know what this human was saying, but he kept watching him.

"Can you not speak? Is that why you are not answering me?"

Eiji sank low to the floor, his eyes never leaving Oishi. His tail swished back and forth in a threatening manner.

Oishi sighed. He slowly backed away and closed the car door. He then went to the front and opened the driver's door and got in.

"I'm taking you back with me." He said, turning to face Eiji. "You'll stay with me, I'll fix you up, and we'll find out who did this to you. You have been in the car this long without attacking me so I'll trust you to behave."

He saw Eiji's confused expression, and smiled slightly.

"You can come sit in the front with me." He offered, but Eiji looked like he wasn't going to budge anytime soon. "Suit yourself."

Oishi started the car again and they got back on the road.

'Where is he taking me?' Eiji wondered.

…

They drove along for a long time before Oishi noticed that Eiji was struggling to stay awake. Eiji's eyelids were getting heavy and listening to the humming sound of the car's engine was enough to make him fall asleep right then and there. But he tried to stay awake. He didn't know much about this human, and therefore was wary about him.

Oishi would talk to him now and then, seeing if he could gain Eiji's trust, but Eiji hadn't budged in the past hour and a half.

Eiji yawned.

"You know, Kitten," he said softly. "you can come up here with me. The seat next to me makes a heck of a better bed than the floor" Oishi reached over and patted the seat next to him.

Eiji looked at what he was doing and it dawned on him that the boy wanted him in that seat. He contemplated what he should do. He finally decided to trust the human this time, seeing as to he is the one driving. He slowly got up and moved closer to Oishi's hand. With one quick movement, he jumped into the seat and curled up.

"See? Now isn't that better?" He asked.

"Nya…" Eiji said.

"Well at least you're not hissing at me anymore."

Eiji looked at the human. Why was he acting so nice?

"You know," He started again. "we need to get you some clothes. You can borrow some of mine until then, though." Eiji wrapped his tail around him. "So what exactly are you? A mutant? A hybrid? …I can see that there is writing on your collar. Will you let me read it?" Oishi slowly reached towards the naked boy's neck, but immediately was hissed at for coming within his personal space. Oishi stopped moving his hand but did not bring it back.

Eiji was getting nervous at this strange boy's actions. He sat up a little and backed away from Oishi's hand. He was grateful to him that he didn't advance any more than he had already come, but was still nervous about him. Oishi soon returned his arm to the steering wheel.

"You'll probably like where I stay." He said. "My friends and I all contributed to the payments of the rent and were able to afford a rental house on campus. We even have a backyard with a small bath house."

Eiji yawned, not understanding much of what was being said. He did however understand the word 'bath,' which made Eiji's ears turn toward Oishi. Eiji wasn't planning on having a bath anytime soon, that's for sure.

Eiji looked up ahead and saw something on the side of the road. It was very intriguing. It looked like…like a box…a big box.

Oishi saw Eiji's look of fascination for the object.

"House." Oishi said, getting Eiji's attention. "That's a house."

"Nya." He exclaimed, looking a little frustrated at Oishi.

"You don't understand a word I'm saying do you?"

"Unya?" Eiji cocked his head to the side, making a very cute face at Oishi.

Oishi smiled. "I didn't think so."

Eiji curled up and rested his head on his arm, but still kept his eye on Oishi. He may have been acting nice, but this boy was still a human, and Eiji didn't like humans.

About half an hour later Eiji fell asleep.

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Next chapter: Eiji starts to trust Oishi as they arrive to the house; fish; bedtime; FLUFF!!!!!

Expect much Fluff in the upcoming chapters. The next chapter will be the fluff starting point!

Please review!!! Please, no flames! I plan on updating before New Years…actually I have the next chapter ready, but I want some reviews first. If I get many reviews, I might post it as soon as tomorrow!

But I don't have any chapters written after the second one, so you might have to wait a while after that…but now I have more time now that I'm not in those time consuming advanced classes… I.B. just took over my entire life!!!

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Funny quote of the day:

"All people are born alike - except Republicans and Democrats." )

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	2. Experiment 1128

Wow…I got lots of reviews on the first day…I should really stick with this one! smiles

Okay, the reason I haven't updated 'Disabilities' is because I just started getting into 'Full Metal Alchemist' and I realized how much that story connects to mine and I didn't want to get a flame saying that I stole an idea.

Now, I know a lot of you have read lil'mi1's story 'Hybrid,' and trust me…I did not get the idea from her, nor intended to have Eiji in the same form…so please don't say I plagiarize.

This chapter has much FLUFF!!! Now I am not sure if this will be an Eiji/Oishi love-type relationship, or a special bonding friendship…with FLUFF!!!! So people who disapprove of shounen ai, this shouldn't be offensive…I mean, Eiji doesn't know how to act human…

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LAST TIME:

Eiji curled up and rested his head on his arm, but still kept his eye on Oishi. He may have been acting nice, but this boy was still a human, and Eiji didn't like humans.

About half an hour later Eiji fell asleep.

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When they arrived at the campus it was dark. Oishi looked at the digital clock. 10:26. Many students that were currently on the campus are usually inside by this time, but just to be safe Oishi reached back to the back seat and pulled a bag forward. He opened it and pulled out something that, to Eiji, looked like a giant hairball until Oishi unfolded it.

"Here, wear this." He said. "The house is right here, but if anyone saw you without clothes on, we'd get in a lot of trouble." Eiji cocked his head.

Oishi helped wrap the robe around the boy's naked form, which was pretty hard considering he was still crouched and refused to have any physical contact with the human. After Oishi did as much as he could he reached back in the bag, pulled out a baseball hat, and put it over Eiji's ears. Eiji hissed as his ears got smashed under the cap.

When Oishi thought Eiji's appearance was good enough, he opened his door and got out. He went around to Eiji's side and opened his door. Eiji backed away from the door, like he had done when Oishi first discovered him, but this time he put his hand on the steering wheel. All of a sudden, Eiji heard a loud noise. The noise was coming from the car and it scared Eiji.

Eiji quickly leaped out of the car in freight and landed on top of Oishi.

"Hey! Get off!" he exclaimed to Eiji. "Come on, get off of me! It was just the car horn!"

Eiji quietly jumped off of Oishi and stood on his haunches.

"Nya?"

Oishi got up and closed Eiji's door. He locked the car, deciding that he could take his stuff out later, and that taking care of Eiji was his top priority.

He walked up to the house, which was a mere ten meters away from the car, with Eiji following close behind. He opened the door and they walked in. when Oishi turned on the lights, the first thing Eiji noticed was the very large fish tank. Wait, make that two very large fish tanks. And he saw a brown and white cat sitting on the couch. Eiji looked around the house and noticed that the entryway was connected to a large room with two large sofas two chairs and a bean bag, a television and a coffee table. A kitchen was next to it and it had a bar and a small pantry. There was a hallway on the opposite side from the kitchen. He followed Oishi down the hall. There were many doors, but Oishi seemed to know just which door he wanted to open. He walked into the chosen room and turned on the light.

It was a bedroom. It was simple, but it fascinated Eiji, mainly because he has never seen an actual bedroom. It had a bunk bed, a desk with a chair, a lamp, a bookshelf, a dresser and a closet. Eiji saw that on top of the dresser was a very small bowl with a pretty blue fish with red streaks and big fins on it.

Eiji pulled off the robe and the hat and let them drop to the ground. He went over to a corner and curled up with his tail around him, observing the room from that angle.

"You can sleep up there if you want." Oishi said, pointing to the top bunk. Oishi went to his dresser and fished out a large T-shirt and threw it to Eiji. "And you can wear this to bed."

Eiji looked at Oishi, confused. He unscrunched the shirt and held it up sideways. Oishi chuckled at Eiji's antics. He went over to where Eiji was and reached for the shirt, lifting it up and was about to put it on Eiji. Eiji's eyes widened and he hissed at Oishi, who quickly moved his hands away.

"Okay, alright. Just calm down." Oishi soothed. Eiji gave him a low growl. Then he made another growl, but this one wasn't from his mouth but from his stomach. "So you're hungry! That's probably why you're in such a bad mood."

Eiji watched Oishi leave the room. Somehow it felt weird. He had spent almost the entire day with this human, and now when he left the room, it almost seemed like he didn't want him to leave. Eiji shrugged it off and followed the human to the kitchen, where he was currently searching through the fridge.

Eiji decided to watch the fish. Why on earth would someone want two different tanks? Actually the tanks looked alike, but the color of the gravel, the plants and even the fish were different in each one. One tank had fish with shiny scales and were many pretty colours, most of them having larger fins than their body. The other tank had fish that were black, grey and silver-like, and they all had small fins, even though they had longer bodies.

(a/n: Tropical fish and saltwater fish)

Eiji was especially interested in a fish that was long and silver with a black mark on his top fin. He didn't look like the others…he seemed more flat…or skinny…or something. He watched as it swam a different way than the other fish.

"Oi, Kitten," Oishi called to him. "Look what our neighbor left for us!" He pulled out a large container and went to sit on the couch. "If you even think about touching my fish, you're sleeping outside, clothes or not." Of course he was only joking.

(Oi: hey)

Oishi motioned for Eiji to join him up on the couch. When Oishi opened the container, the smell of fish overwhelmed Eiji. Remembering the fish he had eaten earlier, he quickly jumped up on the couch and looked at the meal. It was small strips of fish on top of some white stuff. Oishi was reading a note from Sakuno. It read:

'Hey Oishi. I knew you'd be back today so I left this for you. Karupin was really good while you guys were gone. I'll stop by tomorrow to check on things!'

Oishi smiled. Sakuno was the best pet-sitter he knew. He looked at Eiji and smiled at his desperate expression as the red head looked at the sushi.

Oishi picked up a particular red sushi, salmon, and gave it to Eiji. Oishi saw Eiji suddenly smile as he happily took the food. He popped it in his mouth and ate it. When he swallowed it he looked to Oishi for another piece. Oishi smiled and picked up a different kind and let Eiji try it. Eiji's smile now practically covered his face. Oishi ate one and then gave Eiji one that looked very different. It was like an upside down pocket with rice and sesame stuffed in it. Eiji sniffed it.

"That's inari sushi." Oishi said. "It doesn't have fish in it, but it's still considered a type of sushi." Not understanding a word Oishi just said, Eiji took a nibble and soon stuck his tongue out. Oishi laughed and took the inari from him and replaced it with another salmon sushi. Eiji smiled and ate it.

Soon, Eiji was full. He stretched in a very cat-like way and then curled up close to Oishi, resting his head on Oishi's lap. Oishi was surprised to see Eiji act like this after going through the whole day without touching even once. Eiji rubbed his cheek into Oishi's leg.

Oishi couldn't take it anymore. He reached over to Eiji's head and started stroking his hair. He felt Eiji flinch a little when his hand touched the boy's head, but he soon relaxed. Oishi then moved his fingers over the edges of Eiji's ears. They twitched when the fingers reached certain ticklish spots. Oishi then moved his fingers to scratch the triangular ears. Eiji purred in delight. A funny feeling shot through his body, and he didn't want the feeling to go away. He snuggled into Oishi more.

Oishi looked at the boy's body. He had bruises all over and small plasters over, what he suspected, cuts and abrasions. What really made Oishi frown was the long, red mark that went from his left shoulder down to his right hip and came around the side a few inches. He new the only thing that could cause such a mark, was a whip. It was recent, too. Not over about two weeks. Oishi imagined that it must still be a little sore, so he avoided touching it. He decided that he would have to clean up all of his wounds in the morning, seeing as to how late it was.

Oishi suddenly remembered the collar and with his free hand he reached for it. It was black leather and looked like it was specially fit to him. There was no latch, and it couldn't stretch. He wondered hoe it was put on. It looked old, as if he's worn it his entire life. There was just enough room between the material and the skin of his neck to fit a few fingers. It did however have a small ring that looked like it was meant for latching him to something. It bore no address, just a name.

"Eiji…" Oishi read. Eiji looked up at him when he heard his name. "So your name is Eiji. Who could do such an awful thing to a defenseless creature? Collars are not meant for this type of purpose." He looked at the collar closer and found something else engraved in it. He had to squint his eyes a little before he was able to read it, and when he did, Oishi froze.

'Experiment #1128'

"Y…you're…you're an.. experiment…?" Oishi was so shocked by this, he could barely speak. Many things were going through his head now. 'An experiment?' Oishi thought. 'Is that why he was so scared of me at first? Were the people who took care of him mean to him?'

"Nya?" Eiji mewed. "Unya." He started to nuzzle Oishi's hand, which had stopped scratching him. Eiji didn't like the look on Oishi's face. He looked…sad. Eiji didn't want this human to be sad. He liked him. He was the first human he has ever started to trust. Eiji then realized that Oishi had become sad when he read the collar. Was that what was making him upset?

"It's okay." Oishi said, a small smile creeping its way across his features. "They won't find you. I'll make sure they don't ever harm you again."

"Nya." Eiji smiled at him. He was able to understand enough to know what Oishi meant.

"Let's go to bed, shall we?" Oishi said, looking down at Eiji who was on his legs, preventing him from getting up. Eiji wasn't about to give up his comfy spot. "Aw, come on, Eiji. I'm tired."

"Hmph." Eiji snorted, before climbing off. Oishi got up and put the container in the kitchen. He went to his room and Eiji followed.

When they reached the bedroom Oishi closed the door and got changed into his pajamas. He saw Eiji playing with one of his socks, so he sat on his bed to watch the cat-boy.

"Okay, Kitten. Time for bed." Oishi said after a while, but Eiji didn't listen. "Eiji…You're going to rip my sock." Eiji looked at the raven haired boy when he heard his name. The red head smiled and bounced over to Oishi.

"NYA!!!" He yelled as he jumped up on the bed with Oishi and curled up on his lap.

"Wha…?…Hey!!! This is my bed! You sleep up there!" Oishi pointed to the top bunk. Eiji only curled up even more. Oishi sighed and pushed the smaller boy off of his lap, resulting in him being on the pillow. "Fine…I'll sleep up there."

Oishi got out of the bed and climbed up to the top bunk but before he could get there, Eiji had jumped up and was sitting there waiting for him. Oishi could only stare in disbelief at Eiji. Eiji grinned in a way that meant he was searching for attention.

"Indecisive much?" Oishi asked sarcastically. "Make up your mind already."

When it looked like Eiji was staying, Oishi slowly climbed down to the lower bunk. When Eiji made a motion to come also, Oishi told him 'No.' Eiji seemed to understand 'No' because he stopped moving after that.

When Oishi laid down in his bed and looked up, he saw Eiji's head was sticking over the side, watching him.

"Bed." Oishi said. Eiji quickly disappeared to his bed.

Eiji laid down and snuggled into the covers and pillows before drifting off to sleep.

Then Oishi remembered something…he forgot to call Tezuka.

……………

EWWWW!!!!!! Inari!!!!! That tastes like…soggy, gooey bread…shivers

YUP!!! Sakuno is in this story, too…she will be of minor importance, but she is still useful.

If you don't think it can get any FLUFF-ier than that…your wrong!!! Next Chapter: Bath time, clothes, and kitchen chaos!!!

Okay, so I haven't written it yet…but I have it all planned out in my head…which just so happens to be very tired right now…

I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I will try and get it to you as soon as possible! I am in a tennis tournament this week, so please be patient! (Note: Yay!!! I won my first game in all of my events! (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles))

Please Review!!!!!! You people are my inspiration!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Please note that whenever I post, changes the format and it makes me really mad! Sorry if it gets confusing!

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	3. Wake up and Bath time

Hi everyone!

I am soooooooooooooooo sorry about the late (2 month) update! I was in Japan the day after Christmas and when I came back three weeks later, I just got loaded with things going on.

The main thing is that this is our tennis season, so practice took a good four and a half hours away from my day. We are leaving this Thursday for a game in Yuma, Arizona, then to Solono Beach, California, then to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then Ft. Collins, Colorado…after that, I forget where else we are going. (Yeah, I am with a traveling team. I play the gold doubles position with my best friend and silver singles!) We are eventually going to end up in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a tournament, then head back to Phoenix!

But another thing that takes a lot of my time is my advanced art class. I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THAT STIPLING PROJECT FOR THREE FRIGGIN' WEEKS! MY TEACHER BETTER LIKE IT 'CAUSE STIPLING IS HARD AND MAKES ME DIZZY! But, yeah, I love my art class and I think I just found my semester project!

(oh yeah…I also had a ruptured artery in January that sent me to the hospital, so that banned me from my computer 'cause the bright screen made me SUPER dizzy.)

Yeah, I know the title is not very good…but I was in a hurry and since I had it saved under that title for the time being, I just typed in 'Nya.' I regret typing it, but I don't want to change it because I might risk losing some of my reviewers!

FLUFF CHAPTER!

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Morning…

The sun had just barely risen and a blue glow had settled in the room.

Oishi felt himself wake up slowly, his eyes still closed, as he stretched his arm out. He peeked one eye open and was momentarily confused when all he saw was red. Then he remembered the events of the day before and realized that Eiji's hair was in his face.

Wait…that would mean that Eiji was with him…on his bed…

Oishi, now fully awake, looked at the sleeping cat-boy next to him. He had, at sometime in the night, come down from the top and curled up with Oishi. His cheek lay on Oishi's shoulder and he had one leg across the taller boy's legs, his tail wrapping itself around Oishi's ankle.

Oishi blushed at how close they were, considering that Eiji was still naked…and… How did Eiji get under the covers?

Eiji stirred as he felt Oishi wake up. He turned his head up so that he was looking at Oishi.

Oishi smiled when he saw the dazed look on Eiji's face. He wondered if Eiji had even realized that he was awake yet.

Eiji just kept staring at Oishi's face before putting his head back down.

"Hey Eiji…" Oishi whispered. "Didn't I say you were to sleep up there?"

Eiji didn't move.

"It's time to get up Eiji." He said. "Can you please get off of me?"

Eiji still didn't move.

Oishi frowned at this. He moved his hands to the boy's shoulder and gently started to push him off…but Eiji quickly latched his arms and legs around Oishi, not wanting to be moved.

"Hey!" Oishi exclaimed. He tried pushing him again, but Eiji just held tighter. "Get off, Eiji!"

Oishi realized that Eiji was stronger than he looked. He reached down and tried prying off his legs, but they were also unmoving.

After a while of struggling, Oishi decided that it was time to resort to a new tactic. Tickling.

He reached a finger to one of Eiji's ears and slowly started to move the small hairs on the inside. Eiji shook his head frantically. Oishi smiled and did it again. It had the same effect on Karupin. Eiji tried to move his head away from the offending fingers, but they wouldn't stop. He put his ear to Oishi's chest, but Oishi just went after the other one. After Eiji realized that there was no winning, he flattened his ears to his skull and hissed at Oishi, who stopped immediately.

Oishi sighed. Tickling his ears would just make Eiji mad at him, and he didn't want that.

So this time, he reached down to Eiji's sides and started to lightly trail his finger along the boy's skin. Eiji squirmed a little. Oishi did it more and Eiji was having the hardest time trying not to give in.

By now Oishi was using all of his fingers, causing Eiji to squeal a bit. He moved his hands to Eiji's stomach…where he suddenly stopped.

Eiji looked up to see why Oishi had all of a sudden stopped when he was winning. Eiji stared at Oishi's expression.

Oishi was both stunned and horrified. He lightly pressed his palm into Eiji's stomach. He couldn't believe it. How could he not have seen it the night before?

He quickly pulled the covers off, surprising Eiji enough to make him let go.

"Nya!"

Oishi stared at Eiji. He knew the boy was skinny…but he didn't realize just how much. Now that Eiji was not crouched or curled up, he could see that Eiji's ribs were bulging out of his sides and his stomach looked like it had imploded. He saw that he could easily outline the boy's pelvis and spine, as it made his back a bumpy ridge all the way down his back. Lying there, Eiji looked like he couldn't even walk, and Oishi knew that if he were human, then he might as well be close to dead.

Eiji didn't like the look on Oishi's face. It looked like he was mad at him for something. Was it the collar again? Confused, Eiji curled up into his usual position, afraid that Oishi was going to yell at him.

Oishi realized that he must look like he was mad at Eiji when in fact he was mad at the people who did this to him. Oishi let his face relax. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and pat Eiji on the head.

"It's alright. I'm not mad at you." He said calmly. He then got up and headed for the door. "Let's get you something to eat."

Eiji watched as he left the room before following. He saw Oishi going through the cupboards and decided watch the fish again. He watched the silver one that he watched the day before. The silver fish seemed curious about him, too, as it came up to the glass and looked at the boy on the other side.

"Nya!" Eiji exclaimed as the fish swam in circles in his view. It was as if the fish was showing off! Eiji pressed his nose to the glass and the fish looked at him. Eiji went to the other side of the tank and the fish followed. Eiji was delighted at this! "Unya!"

After a while, Oishi brought in a large bowl of rice. He saw Eiji 'playing' with one of the fish and smiled. He looked to see which one it was.

It was his only Bala. Oishi was surprised… it had grown a liking to Eiji…strange.

He noticed that one of Fuji's cameras was sitting on the table so he picked it up and took a few pictures of the precious moment.

He sat down beside Eiji with the bowl. He pointed to a random fish.

"Fish." He said.

Eiji looked at him curiously.

"Fish." He said again.

"…shu…" Eiji breathed.

"Here." Oishi said, handing him the bowl. "Eat."

Eiji looked at the bowl and sniffed it. Then he ate some.

Satisfied, Oishi fed the fish in the tanks, put out a bowl of food for Karupin, and left to his room to feed his fish that resided in there. When he came back he saw that Eiji was back to staring at the fish tank. He had not eaten much, which made Oishi frown. He held up the bowl to Eiji's face so that he understood that he need to eat, but Eiji shook his head and pushed the bowl away.

Oishi knew that it was not a good sign to see him be satisfied with such a small amount, but forcing it would end up being disastrous.

He got up and decided to call Tezuka.

He apologized about forgetting to call. Oishi told Tezuka about Eiji, and about the collar and his malnutrition. Be also mentioned the wounds and how he was afraid of him at first.

After hanging up, he called Sakuno.

He told her that everything was fine and that she didn't have any reason to come over today, saying that he would be out all day.(which was a lie)

After that, he found Eiji sleeping next to the fish tank.

He sighed as he realized just how hard it might be to fix up his wounds. He decided that he should first clean him up.

He walked over to the sleeping boy and pat his head, waking the youth up.

"Eiji, time to get you all clean." Oishi said. He walked to the back door and motioned for Eiji to follow. When he did, Oishi led him to the bathhouse. "Time for a nice bath…"

"NYA!" Eiji screamed at the word 'bath' and headed for the house.

Oishi had a feeling this would happen, so he quickly grabbed Eiji around the waist and hoisted him up. He carried the struggling red head into the room with a large bath, which was easy considering he didn't weigh much. He closed the door before letting Eiji down. Eiji quickly went to a corner to stay away from the water.

Oishi got out of his pajamas and wrapped a bath towel around himself before stepping into the pre-heated bath. He looked over to Eiji and smiled.

"Come here, Eiji. The water won't hurt you." He said. He heard a low growl come from the boy backed up in the corner. "Suit yourself."

Oishi decided to try a little psychology on Eiji and looked away from him. Eiji watched as Oishi didn't look at him or acknowledge his presence.

"Nya." He said trying to get Oishi's attention. He wanted to get out of the bathhouse. "Unya."

Oishi didn't look up. He just continued to clean himself.

Eiji was a little upset now. He liked it when Oishi gave him attention. He crept a little closer.

"Nya." No response. A little closer…

"Nya!" Oishi still didn't look at him. A few more steps…

"Nya!" Nothing.

-swat-

"Hey!" Oishi looked up after Eiji hit him on the head, only to find that he had gone back to his corner. Oishi sighed. "I give up. I'll just have to give you a sponge bath later."

Eiji tilted his head cutely, not understanding.

Oishi sighed again as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Oishi thought about what Inui would say if he saw Eiji. He wondered if the data-man could find the people who abused him so badly, or if he could find a way to get him to eat more at least.

Just then he felt something. He opened one eye to find that Eiji had come over and was looking into the water while resting his chin on Oishi's shoulder. Oishi smiled and reached up to scratch Eiji's ear.

Eiji gave a purring noise and closed his eyes. Oishi closed his eyes again, too, and went back to thinking.

He opened his eyes again when he heard splashing and saw that Eiji was trying to get in the water with him, but was having a hard time gathering the courage to. He was standing in the warm water on his tip-toes, afraid to sit down. His tail was high in the air so that it wouldn't get wet.

"Come sit with me." Oishi smiled and motioned for Eiji to sit next to him, but Eiji didn't move. He was too scared to.

Oishi got up and put his arms around Eiji, pulling him into an embrace. Eiji calmed down tremendously when he felt Oishi's arms around him. He relaxed into Oishi, leaning onto him.

Oishi slowly sat down with Eiji. He was still nervous, but he let Oishi guide him down. When they finally sat down, Eiji snuggled into Oishi's chest.

"It's okay, Eiji." He said. "That was very brave of you."

They sat there like that for a while until Oishi reached for a washcloth and started to wash the dirt off of Eiji, peeling the bandages off as he went.

Eiji just sat there as if he were in a trance and didn't realize what was going on. He let Oishi wash him. The warm water felt good on his injuries, especially the one on his back. He let Oishi scrub a liquid of some sort into his hair, having it turn into bubbles. It felt good to have Oishi massage his scalp and ears.

Oishi knew he shouldn't be using shampoo or soap in the tub and that it was meant to be used in the shower room next to the one they were in, but he didn't care right now. Eiji was in the tub and who knows when he'll get enough courage to come back in the water.

Oishi took a bowl from the side of the tub and filled it with water to rinse out his hair. He was careful not to get any water inside his ears.

He wondered if he should do Eiji's tail. He put some shampoo/conditioner in one hand, then the other groped for Eiji's tail. When he found it and pulled it out of the water, Eiji squealed and quickly grabbed his tail back.

"Don't worry, I just want to clean it." Oishi said, surprised by Eiji's reactions. Eiji just held his tail closer. It was obvious that he didn't like people touching his precious tail.

Oishi sighed, deciding that it was best not to push it. Then another idea came to mind.

"Do you want to clean it?" Oishi asked, holding up the bottle. Eiji looked at him curiously. He didn't understand. "Never mind…maybe another time…"

After a while, Eiji had found a way to amuse himself by blowing bubbles. He made small waves in the tub by moving his arm back and forth, always looking up at Oishi to make sure he was watching.

Oishi found it very amusing that Eiji was amused.

After a while, Oishi stepped out of the tub and walked towards the door with Eiji close behind. He opened the door and a rush of cool air met them. Oishi reached for a dry towel to wrap around himself and then wrapped one around Eiji, who didn't like it, but was grateful for the warmth it provided.

They quickly walked back to the house and headed for the bedroom.

Oishi got into some weekend clothes and decided to try and dress Eiji again.

He pulled out a navy blue t-shirt and walked over to Eiji. Eiji looked up at Oishi as he came over. He was curled up again.

Oishi sat down next to him and held out the shirt. Eiji sniffed it, remembering last night. He looked back at Oishi.

Oishi held up the shirt to put over his head. Eiji, still uneasy about clothes, ducked a little, then put his head through the hole. He saw Oishi smile. He jumped up and started running around Oishi.

"Nya! Nya!" He yelled, earning himself a laugh from Oishi. He was happy that he had made Oishi smile.

"Let's get your arms in before you start celebrating!" Oishi laughed. Eiji stopped in front of him and grinned. Oishi took one of Eiji's arms and put it through the hole. Then he did the same with the other.

Eiji looked at himself. It felt a lot different than being nude. It wasn't entirely comfortable, but if it made Oishi happy, then he would wear it.

Oishi then took out a pair of new boxers and held them out for Eiji to step into. Eiji looked at it, hesitated, then put one foot into it. As he lifted his other foot to put in it, he felt unbalanced, so he held on to Oishi's shoulders. Oishi pulled the boxers up, and when they were on, Oishi looked at Eiji's face.

Eiji looked like he was about to cry.

Oishi wondered if maybe he should just let him go bottomless, thinking that he wasn't used to feeling something against his ass.

Then he remembered Eiji's tail. It was sticking up and out of the shorts, at what looked like a very uncomfortable angle. Oishi mentally slapped himself as he turned Eiji around. Eiji watched as Oishi grabbed a pair of scissors and pulled the back of his pants outward. He snipped a small hole in the back of the underwear and reached for Eiji's tail.

Eiji quickly turned around.

Oishi couldn't understand it. Karupin let people touch her tail…the only time a he had seen a cat not want their tail touched was when…

Then it dawned on him: people have pulled his tail in the past.

Eiji gave Oishi a guilty look. He felt bad that even though he trusted this human to take care of him, he couldn't trust him to not to pull his tail yet.

Oishi took a step forward and put his arms around Eiji. After a moment of holding him, Oishi bent down and pulled the boxers off. He would wait for Eiji to trust him more before he went further.

A few hours later, Oishi woke up to an empty bed. He and Eiji had decided to take a nap, and now he was nowhere to be seen.

He got up and walked out to the living room. He peeked in the kitchen and his eyes went wide.

Flour was all over the floor, eggs were dripping from the counter, orange juice was splattered all over the table, cereal boxes were lying open on the floor with cereal thrown everywhere, plastic cups were scattered all over, what looked like one of Inui's experiments was oozing it's way across the linoleum, and Eiji was sitting there, right in the middle of it all.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Okay, you can't tell me that you didn't think this chapter was somewhat cute! I really enjoyed writing this one!

Don't worry everyone, Eiji will eventually come around to trusting Oishi fully…but not now. Sorry.

You people need to tell me what you think about this chapter cause there will be more bathtimes in the future and I need to know if it was cute, too mushy, not enough mushy-ness, or whatever. PLEASE REVIEW!

Next time: Karupin gets some attention, Eiji tries to talk, new people to meet, Eiji tries new foods, and the fish's great escape!

JA!

(P.S. Don't expect an immediate update!)


	4. New people, food and flying fish

Please don't kill me! I know I haven't updated in over a year! My comp crashed and all my files were lost and I was too lazy to re-write chapters. Thanks to a friend, I decided to look back on here and was not only shocked at how my writing skills haven't improved, but wondered how I ever thought of giving up on this story.

So here it is!

(I decided that the rating might go up later)

…….

…….

…….

Eiji felt bad. His curiosity cost him his play time with Oishi as he watched the boy clean up the last bit of the mess.

Oishi wiped up the last bit of the mess and looked over to Eiji and sighed. Somehow Eiji had been able to avoid getting his face messy, but there was a large stain on the shirt. He walked over to Eiji and reached for his shirt and began to pull it off. Eiji was glad to feel the shirt leave his skin and nuzzled up to Oishi.

He followed Oishi to the laundry room where the raven-haired boy put it in the washer. He didn't expect the stain to come out, considering it looked like something from Inui's bottle, but he was willing to try. He walked back into the living room, Eiji right behind him. He sat down on the couch and Eiji looked up at him with a little worry in his face.

"Don't worry about it." Oishi said. "I never wear that shirt anyways."

"Nya?" Eiji questioned.

Oishi smiled at him and motioned for him to come up, but before Eiji jumped up to his spot on the couch, a fluffy cat sat down next to Oishi. Both stared at each other.

Oishi suddenly panicked, thinking the two were going to start fighting, but they just kept staring at each other. He reached both arms out and scratched both of them behind the ears, receiving two different purrs.

Eiji jumped up on the other side of Oishi and settled down, nuzzling into Oishi's chest. Oishi smiled and put his arms around Eiji's waist. They stayed like that for a while until Oishi started hearing a soft clinking noise. He looked down to see Eiji fiddling with his collar.

Oishi frowned. How were they ever going to find who did this to him? He couldn't take this to the public. Eiji would be taken away and kept in probably worse conditions than before.

Suddenly, Eiji started poking Oishi. Oishi gave the boy his attention.

"Nya." Eiji pointed to the name tag on the collar and then to himself. Then he pointed to Oishi. "Unya?"

"You're asking what my name is?" Oishi was excited. It was the first true moment of communication. He pointed to himself. "Oishi"

"Hoiii…"

Oishi's eyes widened in amazement.

"HOiIi…sh…shu..nya…?" Eiji was having trouble.

"Oi…shi." Oishi said it slower.

"Hoi…shu." Eiji looked up at Oishi hopefully.

"Oishi."

"Hoi…Oi…..sh…shi…" Eiji smiled. "Oi…shiii…"

Oishi was amazed. This was probably his first word EVER. He held Eiji closer.

After a while, Oishi looked at the clock and got up. Eiji watched him, confused. Oishi opened a closet and pulled out a large robe. Eiji let Oishi put the robe on him and help get his arms through. He looked at Oishi and smiled when he saw that Oishi was happy.

"Good Eiji." Oishi said, tying the belt. "Now you need to stay clothed for a while, okay?"

"Unya?" Eiji tilted his head.

Oishi went into the kitchen and brought back his bowl of food. Eiji ate slowly, wondering why Oishi was acting a little strange, not that he wasn't strange to begin with.

Just then, they heard a car pull up. Oishi walked over to the door to let three bays, about Oishi's age, in. Eiji became very nervous. One of them had large glasses, just like the scientists had.

"I'm glad you guys came." Oishi said, closing the door and walking over to Eiji. Eiji hid behind Oishi.

"…Nya…" He said quietly.

"Does He know how to talk?" The one with glasses asked.

"No, but I think he's willing to learn. He tried saying my name earlier." Oishi said. "Taka-san. We something to feed him that will help him gain weight. He's starved and barely eats anything as it is."

"I know just the thing." Taka said. "Is he friendly?"

"He's nervous." Oishi said. "Give him time."

"Ne, Oishi." Said Fuji. "Does he have a name?"

"Eiji."

Eiji looked up at the sound of his name. He watched as the taller blond passed by to go into the kitchen. He put his hands on Oishi's shoulders and peered at the other two. The one with his eyes closed seemed friendly, but Oishi was very weary… it could be a trick…right?

Oishi led Eiji over to the couch and they sat down. Fuji came over and sat on Eiji's side, but left some distance. Inui just stood there, notebook out and ready.

Eiji didn't like that. This human was too much like the humans he lived with. He pressed into Oishi's side a bit as if to ask why he was there.

"Don't worry." Oishi told him softly, noticing Eiji's nervousness toward Inui. "He won't hurt you."

Eiji, not understanding, just nuzzled into Oishi.

"He seems to have taken to you, Oishi." Fuji said. Oishi blushed a little at the statement.

Oishi continued telling them everything he knew about Eiji so far, from his love of sushi to him not liking his tail to be touched.

Not long after, Taka came back in with a bowl of food. He handed it to Oishi.

"This should help." He said, nervously. "It has a lot of ingredients used in dishes for sumo wrestlers, so it might help him gain a few pounds."

"Thanks, Taka-san." Oishi smiled as he held the bowl up to Eiji.

Eiji sniffed it. It smelt good, but Eiji didn't feel like eating so he turned his head away. Oishi sighed.

"Will he eat from your hands?" Fuji asked.

"Fuji, it's very soup-like." said Inui. "How is he supposed to give it to him?"

"Stick your finger in the sauce, Oishi." Fuji suggested. "Offer it to him like that."

Oishi, surprised at Fuji's suggestion, did so and offered his sauce-covered finger to Eiji.

Now Eiji was confused. He sniffed Oishi's finger and licked some of the juice off. Eiji let the taste sink in before putting Oishi's whole finger into his mouth and started sucking on it. Oishi blushed a crimson red, but Eiji seemed content on keeping Oishi's finger in his mouth.

Fuji snickered at the scene in front of him.

"Not. A. Word." Oishi warned Fuji.

"I'm sure this won't be the first." Fuji said calmly. Oishi glared at his smiling friend.

"So how are the others?" Oishi decided to change the subject. Eiji was still sucking on his finger.

"They should be here in a few hours." Inui said, adjusting his glasses. "Tezuka decided to go with the others to keep Momo and Kaido from killing each other."

Oishi finally got his finger back and set the bowl on the coffee table. Eiji nuzzled up closer, ending up half on him.

"Fuji, he has a lot of injuries on him and a large whip mark on his back." Oishi said to the smiling blond. "Do you know any medicines to help heal them?"

"There is actually a remedy to help heal large area surface wounds that would help the whip mark, and I'm sure we have remedies for anything else."

"Oi, you guys." Taka stuck his head out of the kitchen. "Dinner is ready."

The three walked to the kitchen. Eiji considered following, but the fish tank caught his eye. He decided to find his silver little friend.

………..

The four boys had just finished eating when they heard something from the living room. They scrambled to their feet and saw that Eiji had taken the top off of one of the fish tanks and was looking at the silver fish.

"He's going to eat the fish!" Taka exclaimed.

"He won't eat it, but we need to put the lid back on…" Oishi was walking towards Eiji when all of a sudden, the silver fish leaped out of the water and into Eiji's face. The fish landed on the ground and started wiggling like crazy.

Eiji watched this behavior in amusement. He picked up the flapping fish and looked at it closer.

"Eiji." Oishi said.

"Nya?" Eiji glanced up at Oishi who was right next to him. "Let's put the fish back." Oishi reached for the fish, but Eiji held it close to him. The fish's movements were slowing down. Eiji looked at the fish, confused.

"Eiji, if you don't put it back in the water it will die." Oishi's words did not seem to register. Eiji just kept looking at the fish, wondering why he didn't seem so shiny and happy as he did before. Worried, he looked to Oishi.

Oishi reached for Eiji's arms, slowly and led him over to the tank. He held Eiji's hand as they dipped into the water, letting the fish swim off and into the tank. Eiji bent down beside the tank and watched as the fish seemed to get more energy.

Oishi put the lid back on and knelt by Eiji.

"I wonder if he will benefit from that." Inui said.

"What do you mean?" Taka asked.

"What I mean is that I think you should have let the fish die, Oishi." Inui said.

"What!" Oishi exclaimed.

"Think about it." Inui said. "He obviously has the mind of a child right now. If you would have let it die, then he would know not to do it again. Death is something he should know about. But now that the fish is still alive, it might not register as a threat to the fish's life."

"You can't tell me you didn't see him!" Oishi said. "He was worried and now that he sees the fish is better in the water, he should learn. Besides, there are better ways of teaching than killing." Oishi looked at Eiji.

Eiji's attention to the fish was gone and he was now looking at Oishi. Although he didn't understand much, he could tell that Oishi was defending him.

A moment later, a car was heard pulling up to the house.

"They're early." Fuji said, amused.

Eiji watched the door expectantly.

……….

……….

I hope you all can forgive me for not updating for so long. I will try to keep this one going for as long as I can. I have some great ideas for this one!

Please review! No reviews equals writer's block!


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